Karl Pearson: Contributions to Science

Karl Pearson He was a British scientist who, from his studies and research, came to be considered the father of biostatistics and mathematical statistics. The area in which he excelled was in mathematics, for which he felt a great affinity. It thus became one of the pillars that supports the study of statistics.

Despite being born into a home of deep religious convictions, Pearson adopted free thought and stuck to his only belief: science. He also developed a deep interest in the natural sciences, more precisely by the evolutionary and inheritance theories proposed by Charles Darwin.

Pearson was born in London, United Kingdom, in 1857. He studied academically in medieval literature at the University of Heidelberg, Germany; however, he was inclined to study statistics.

Contributions to science

His taste for statistical science led him to found the first university department dedicated solely and exclusively to the research and development of this science.

In addition, Pearson contributed to the foundation of the magazine Biometrika , and in the creation of the Pearson chi-square test and the Pearson correlation coefficient.

Although his original name was Carl, Pearson decided to modify it to Karl during his stay in Germany. This supposedly he did it under the influence of Karl Marx, whom he came to know in person and who had great influence on the British ideals.

The father of biostatistics

The birth of biostatistics is Karl Pearson's main contribution to science. This is a derivation of mathematical statistics, which can be applied to areas such as medicine, biology, ecology, health services and studies of biological inheritance.

The creation of numerous drugs and the understanding of different diseases owe much of their progress to biostatistics.

The psychometry

Another important area of ​​study for Pearson was psychometrics, whose function is to perform tests that serve to quantitatively measure the qualities of an individual. Thus, results are generated that can be useful for many things. This serves, among other applications, to find the right candidate to occupy a certain position of a company.

Psychometrics is also used to detect talent or as a potential diagnosis, so that the most promising people in a certain area can be recognized.

This outstanding scientist believed and defended eugenics. He was convinced that poverty, ability, intelligence, criminality and creativity were inherited attributions. Therefore, they could go to perfection, eliminating the bad and giving priority to the good.

His philosophy of life was largely positivist. He followed the empirical and subjective idealist theories of George Berkeley, an Irish empiricist philosopher.

Jobs and friendship with Francis Galton

All these ideas led him to become a great friend of Francis Galton, cousin of Charles Darwin, who became his collaborator and colleague during the time that lasted his career. Galton considered Pearson as a great friend.

With Galton, Pearson developed various theories and research on eugenics, the analysis of genetic inheritance, physics and evolutionary paradigms.

After the death of Galton, Pearson became the director of the School of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. Then he was appointed professor and director of the Eugenics School.

Pearson and eugenics

Pearson's views on eugenics could be considered today as deeply racist. According to what can be understood of his personality, Pearson was a cold and calculating man.

He openly defended the war against the inferior races, and saw this as a logical consequence of his scientific work on the exploration of human behavior and its relation to race and genetic inheritance.

The British scientist was known from his youth for his rebellious and somewhat conflictive nature, and also for his radical ideas.

Apart from being a high-profile mathematician, he was a competent historian and had also graduated as a lawyer on the advice of his father, although he never showed real interest in the law and exercised the career for a short period.

Interest in literature

His true point of interest - beyond mathematics and the natural sciences - was literature, especially that of the Middle Ages.

As contributions of his professional life, Pearson is described as a prominent freethinker and a convinced socialist. He gave lectures on topics such as The question of women , at the height of the suffrage movement in the United Kingdom. He also spoke about the ideology of Karl Marx.

His commitment to socialism and his ideals led him to reject the offer to be decorated as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1920. He also refused to be named a Knight in 1935.

Despite this, his critics dismiss Pearson as a false democrat, who called himself a socialist but did not really feel any appreciation for the proletariat or the working class.

In the same way, Pearson showed a wide interest in German culture and history, having also graduated in German Studies. He also wrote on various subjects, beyond the scientific nature; For example, he wrote about religion and about characters like Goethe and Werther.

His fondness for literature, writing and great admiration for Francis Galton, led him to be his official biographer. He even considered it more relevant and important than his cousin, Charles Darwin.

Grammar of science

The Grammar of science, published in 1892, was his main work and most influential in his guild. The paper addresses issues such as matter and energy, antimatter and the physical properties of geometry.

This book served as the basis for the first studies of Albert Einstein, who would even recommend it to his colleagues at the Olympia Academy.

Karl Pearson died in 1936. He is remembered as a controversial character, but at the same time with great admiration for the scientific community, especially that related to statistics, a branch of knowledge that is essential to understand nature.

References

1. Condés, E. (2006). Biostatistics: A fundamental tool in the preparation of radiological articles. ELSEVIER. Retrieved into: elsevier.es
2. Gómez Villegas, M. A. (2007) Karl Pearson, the Creator of Mathematical Statistics. Complutense University of Madrid. Recovered in: mat.ucm.es
3. Mendoza, W. and Martínez, O. (1999). The Eugenics ideas of the Creation of the Institute of Social Medicine. Annals of the Faculty of Medicine, Peru: National University of San Marcos. Retrieved from: sisbib.unmsm.edu.pe
4. Pearson E. S. (1938). Karl Pearson: An Appreciation of Some Aspects of His Life and Work. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from: physics.princeton.edu
5. Porter, T. (1998). Karl Pearson . Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved from: britannica.com